Reviews

Ariana’s Grand

Ariana’s relocation from busy Brighton Avenue to the new Charlesview mixed-use building on the other side of Allston took about six months longer than expected, but the wait for the Afghan restaurant’s reopening was well worth it.

The waiter sets down a basket of naan (hot from the oven) with three sauces: yogurt, cilantro, and hot pepper. We tear apart the puffy, yeasty rounds, and spoon the condiments on them. When that seems slow going, we drag the delicious bread through the sauces to mop them up.

This fine new Afghan restaurant makes it official: the odd-numbered side of Brighton Avenue between Harvard Avenue and Linden Street has so many good ethnic restaurants that you could eat out in a different country every week and never even cross the street.

When my friend told me we would be going to an Afghani restaurant for her birthday, I really didn’t know what to expect. However, I was curious and gladly went along.

Ariana, the Afghani eatery in question, is nestled among a strip of ethnic restaurants on Brighton Ave in Allston. The warm, yellow walls and smiling employees make you feel welcome as soon as you walk in.

From your first taste of warm nan to the last crumb of sweet, nutty bucklawa, you’ll be thrilled with this beautiful Afghan cooking. A former Helmand chef is in the kitchen making this saucy, rice-based cuisine, with similarities to both Indian and Middle Eastern foods.

Ariana: Afghani restaurant Ariana shot up to the number-one spot on Yelp.com mere months after opening up in Allston this past year. Their amazing homemade dishes and inexpensive prices make it the perfect place for a lunch or dinner date. From the pan-fried eggplant to the baked baby pumpkin, their menu will have you coming back again and again, they even feature an entire section dedicated to vegetarians.

Flavors of Afghanistan Come to Allston

Newest to the mix is Ariana, the second Boston area restaurant to offer food from Afghanistan (the other is Helmand in Cambridge). Now open in the space formerly occupied by the Indian restaurant Dawat, Ariana offers traditional Afghan food in a sit-down, fine-dining setting—without the fine-dining prices.